POPULAR MYTHS ABOUT ANIMALS

THE FEMALE PRAYING MANTIS EATS THE

MALE AFTER PROCREATION

Nope, although this does happen in very rare circumstances,

it is by no means a normal thing for praying mantises to do.

TURKEYS DROWN IN THE RAIN

The animal myth says that turkeys are so fascinated by rain that

they’ll just stare into the sky and drown as the water pours down

their throats. Sounds dumb right? Well, it is. And it’s 100% false.

YOU'RE NEVER MORE THAN 3 FEET FROM A SPIDER

In 1995 arachnologist Norman Platnick began an article by stating that

“wherever you sit as you read these lines, a spider is probably no

more than a few yards away”. Norman himself would never have

guessed how a simple statement (key word: probably) would have

exploded into an urban legend.

DOGS ONLY SEE IN BLACK AND WHITE

Nope, while dogs don’t see as many colours as we do, they definitely

see more than black and white. In reality their spectrum would range

from dark blue to light blue to grey, to light yellow to dark yellow.

A GOLDFISH CAN ONLY REMEMBER SOMETHING

FOR 3 SECONDS

If you watch Mythbusters then you know that this animal

myth is absolutely false.

BIRDS EXPLODE IF THEY EAT RICE

Nope, and they don’t blow up if they eat Alka-Seltzer either.

1 DOG YEAR IS 7 HUMAN YEARS

Developmentally speaking, a 1 year old dog has more in common with

a 17 year old. You can’t simply compare dog years and human years.

It’s not a linear relationship and it varies according to breed.

BATS ARE BLIND

Actually, they can all see to some extent and some can see pretty

darn well. That’s why they have eyes.

OSTRICHES BURY THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND

While they do eat sand to help them digest their food, they

definitely don’t stick their heads in it.